


Spooky Coincidence

by spobylol



Category: How to Get Away with Murder
Genre: F/M, Halloween, Halloween Costumes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 06:11:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5118221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spobylol/pseuds/spobylol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last thing Laurel expected was to show up to the Halloween party and find that her costume matches Frank's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spooky Coincidence

**Author's Note:**

> In the spirit of (belated) Halloween...

"You're going to Jeremy Brown's Halloween party, right?" Michaela asks, looking over at the others in the Keating Five.

"Um,  _duh_ ," Connor responds. "His party is supposed to be bomb. I heard it gets so crazy every year that the cops come. I don't know about you guys, but _that's_ the kind of Halloween party I'm gonna be going to."

Laurel nods her head and informs them, "Even I'm going."

"I  _am_ going," Michaela tells them, folding her arms. "I was just wondering if you guys are, too."

The group finishes their work at Annalise's firm so they can get home as soon as possible to get ready for the Halloween party. Laurel heads home to her apartment, getting her costume together. She purchased a yellow dress that resembles Belle from _Beauty & the Beast_, obviously much more sexy, because well, it's a Middleton Halloween party. No girl dresses up as anything less than sexy. 

She curls her hair so it matches the Belle look. Once she's done getting ready, she drives over to the frat house where Jeremy Brown is holding his Halloween party. The bass of the music is blaring so loudly that she can hear it even before she enters the party. People are already drunk, grinding against each other like nobody is watching. She scans the room for a familiar face. She forgot how awkward she is at parties.  _Michaela_.

Michaela is dressed in a skin-tight white dress that is long-sleeved. She has a fluffy halo attached to her head, obviously showing that her costume is an angel.

"Nice costume," Laurel comments with a smile.

"Same to you. I didn't know they made 'sexy Belle' dresses," Michaela chuckles.

"Thank God you could tell what I am. I was afraid people wouldn't be able to tell what this even is," Laurel explains.

"Trust me, nobody gives a crap about what your costume is here, as long as it's sexy," Michaela reminds her. "So, given that, it's time to find myself a man tonight."

Laurel raises an eyebrow.

"You came to this party to find somebody to hook up with?" Laurel asks.

"Well,  _duh_. I mean, it's not my main goal, but it definitely is a part of the plan for tonight," Michaela replies. She notices Laurel's questioning face, and rolls her eyes at it. "Oh, as if you're here with innocent intentions. Tell me you're not here because you heard Frank's coming—"

Laurel's eyes go wide.

" _Frank_ is coming?"

Michaela raises her eyebrows.

"Don't play dumb with me. You didn't know?" she asks.

"No!" Laurel responds. "What the hell would he be doing at a Middleton student's party? He works for Annalise."

Just then, a manly presence comes up from behind her, standing tall. 

"I should have known you'd all be talking about me," Frank smirks, causing Laurel to turn around.

She groans. "What the hell are you doing here, Frank?" she demands.

"I'm not  _that_ much older than you, Laurel. I know what to do at a party. Do you think I'm gonna sit at home while there's free booze at these Halloween parties? Besides, I know Jeremy Brown. I hooked him up with some of the exams from his first year here. He owes me one," Frank explains. "It's really disappointing that you're not happy to see me here."

Laurel rolls her eyes. Joining them next is Asher, who is aided by some brunette chick he picked up before the party.

"What up, guys!" Asher exclaims, putting his arm around the brunette next to him. "This is my new girl Simone. She's a good one, isn't she?"

"Doucheface..." Frank mutters.

Simone observes Frank and Laurel for a moment, who are standing extremely close to each other, although they didn't intend to stand that close.

" _Beauty & the Beast_!" Simone exclaims once she's figured out what the costumes are. "That's a  _really_ cute couple's costume. You guys make a cute couple. Ash, why couldn't  _we_ have had a cute matching couple's costume, too?"

Before Asher can respond to her, Laurel's eyes go wide, and she steps away from Frank. He looks like he's dressed as the beast. He chuckles, realizing that wearing black dress shoes and a blue button-up makes him look like the beast instead of the werewolf he wanted to be.

"No, no. We are  _not_ a couple. Our costumes aren't even match—" she begins, but then turns to look at Frank. Is he the beast? She blinks her eyes a few times. He looks like the beast. His idiot self must have planned this! She feels furious, in disbelief that Asher's date thinks she's dating Frank.

At this point, Michaela begins to laugh.

"Did you two plan this?" she asks, her head tilting back with laughter.

"No, but I can't lie, we  _do_ make one sexy-ass couple, don't we, babe?" Frank teases, putting his hand on her shoulder playfully.

Laurel glares at him, smacking his hand off of her.

"Can I have a word with you, Frank?" Laurel asks.

"Oh, this girl... she can never get enough of me, can she?" he jokes as Laurel drags him away.

Once they're alone in the corner, Frank smirks.

He asks, "You couldn't even wait a second to get me alone, could you? I know you're into me, but I didn't know you're  _that_ into me, Laurel."

"Stop!" Laurel cries. "I can't have people thinking we're in a couple's costume, so can you  _please_ change? I know you have a back-up costume somewhere, so change. Be anything else in the world. Just not this. My friends are going to think we're together."

"Maybe they wouldn't think we're together if you didn't pin me to the wall in the corner of the room," he smirks. "It looks.. sexy."

"Frank, come on!" Laurel pleads. "Now, everyone's going to think I'm into you—"

"Well, if they think you're into me, they're not wrong, are they?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.

Her face gets more serious now, and Frank knows she's actually pissed about this.

"Did you plan this?" Laurel asks. "What did you do? Stalk me? Bribe someone to find out what I'm being so you can match me and make a joke like this? I know this is a game for you, just like it was when you did it to other students in the past, but it's not funny. It's not funny to keep messing with me."

Frank's face softens.

"Relax," he says. "First of all, I'm not even the beast. I was going for a werewolf look, but whatever. And second of all, I'm not that creepy that I'd stalk you to find out what you're being for Halloween. Maybe you should realize it's just a coincidence. If I wanted to mess with you, I could. But I'm not. So, maybe it's fate, if you believe in that crap. But it certainly wasn't me, so I would appreciate it if you backed off of the accusations."

"Look, I'm sorry—" she begins.

"Oh, you don't need to apologize," he tells her. "You've made it pretty clear you don't want me anywhere near you, so, I'll back off."

She furrows her eyebrows, not understanding him. But he makes it even more clear for her. He walks away from her, and seats himself by a sexy blonde dressed as a sexy bunny-rabbit. The girl is practically in her underwear, making Laurel's stomach churn. He doesn't need her. They're not sleeping together anymore, so now he can just go find some new girl to screw. And he's obviously found a real upgrade from her.

* * *

"You know, it's not polite to stare."

Laurel snaps out of it, and turns to look at Michaela.

"Staring?" Laurel asks. "W-what?"

"You were staring at the other half of your Halloween costume," Michaela tells her, chuckling. 

"I wasn't—" Laurel begins.

"Save it," Michaela cuts her off. "He seemed like he was all prepared to go for you when Asher's date pointed out that you guys look like you're matching. What the hell did you say to him that made him run off to flirt with the busty blonde in the bunny costume over there?"

"Nothing, I just accused him of being a bit of a creep and gave him the message that he should stay away from me," Laurel sighs.

"I'm guessing you didn't mean for that message to come out. That's not what you want, is it?" Michaela asks.

Laurel doesn't answer her.

"Look, I can see why you might be into him. His looks don't exactly make him very repulsive, and I'm sure you already have figured out how he is in bed," Michaela says, causing Laurel to almost choke on her drink. "Before you say anything, let me finish. I've also seen the way he looks at you, and I don't think he's just looking to sleep with you. That blonde he's talking to is just for sex. But I don't think it's the same way with you."

"And when did you become the Frank expert?" Laurel asks.

"I'm good at analyzing people. Even mysterious people like Frank," Michaela responds. "And lucky you, I'm taking time out of this party, where I should be flirting senseless with cute guys, to help you figure out whatever the hell you have with Frank."

"He irks me sometimes," Laurel confesses. "So, I get annoyed and I yell at him. But I didn't think he was going to run away and flirt with the blonde girl. I thought it was sorta.. our thing.. to bicker like that."

"So, you  _do_ like him?" Michaela teases, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Shut up," Laurel blushes.

* * *

"This has been really fun, but I'm sorry I have to ask this: is the girl dressed up as Belle your girlfriend?" 

Frank is startled by her question. He raises his eyebrow.

"No, the matching-ness of our costumes is just a.. spooky coincidence," he answers.

The girl smiles at this. She was hoping that Laurel isn't his girlfriend so she can finally initiate the best part of flirting with somebody at a college party: the sex. She leans in closer to Frank's face, centimeters away from pressing her lips on his. Laurel is watching from the couch, where she's sitting with Michaela. Michaela has finally stopped trying to advise her about what to do with Frank, and has instead began her quest to find a hot guy to hook up with. She's flirting with a tall, tanned male named Jacob.

Laurel's heart sinks at the sight. Frank's about to kiss the sexy blonde bunny.

But he doesn't. He pulls back before their lips can even touch one bit.

"What?" the blonde asks, confused and rejected. "What's wrong?"

He sighs and says, "Jennifer, it's been nice talking to you and all, but that girl in the Belle costume. She's not my girlfriend, yeah. But I think I'd like her to be."

She rolls her eyes.

"Great, another guy who is whipped to the girl they like," she grabs her purse. "And by the way, dickface: my name is Janet."

She whacks him with her purse unintentionally (or maybe it  _was_ intentionally, he doesn't know for sure) as she storms away from him. Frank glances over at Laurel, who is already looking at him. When he looks back at her, she looks away, pretending as if she was never looking at him to begin with. But soon enough, she looks back at him again. With his head, he motions it to the left, signaling that he wants to meet.

Laurel gets up from the couch. Michaela is too distracted by Mister Handsome Jacob to notice that Laurel is leaving. They meet in that same corner from before.

"Did something happen between the blonde and you? I saw her leaving," Laurel points out.

"Aw, it's cute that you're paying so much attention to me. Funny how you called _me_ the stalker when you're the one that couldn't take her eyes off of me all night," Frank smirks, folding his arms.

"Okay, look, I didn't come over here to be mocked by you. What do you want from me?" Laurel asks.

Frank sighs.

"It was never my intention to embarrass you at the party, I hope you know that. I wasn't trying to match your costume, and I guess I'm just a big dick, so I thought it was hilarious. I didn't know it was so horrible for you to have anyone think we're dating. I just wanted to say something I don't say very often.. but, I'm sorry," he tells her, running a hand through his hair.

"It's not about that," Laurel sighs. "I just.. I don't want people getting the wrong idea when it isn't true. So, I'm sorry."

Frank smiles at her.

"I'll change," he tells her. "My place isn't too far from here. I was actually gonna be a police officer, and I bought the costume. I decided I'd save it for next year, but it doesn't matter. If it bothers you that much, then I'm willing to change."

"No, it's fine," she stops him. "You don't have to change costumes."

"Alright," he nods his head.

He's about to walk away from her, but Laurel stops him.

"Frank," she calls. He turns back around to face her.

"Yeah?"

"Why did the blonde girl you were flirting with leave?" she asks curiously.

He chuckles.

"I forgot her name. I called her Jennifer, but apparently it's Janice. Or.. Janet. Something like that," he grins. But he's lying. He's one-hundred percent sure that's not the only reason the girl left him. He decided to be a bozo and tell her something that no one else even knows. Yeah, he told this random blonde he's already forgotten the name of how he feels about Laurel, when even Laurel herself doesn't know.

"Oh," Laurel mumbles, slightly disappointed.

Okay,  _very_ disappointed. A large part of her had been hoping that the reason the blonde left him was for a far more noble reason— specifically having to do with her. Such as him telling her he can't do this because there's another girl on his mind. But she should have known. He would have been hooking up with that girl right now if he hadn't screwed up and said her name wrong.

Frank tries to avoid biting his lip— it'll make it too obvious that he's struggling to figure out what to say. Showing nervousness is always a bad thing to do.

"Nah, that's only half the truth.." he confesses, staring at the floor. "She noticed our costumes match, and asked me if you're my girlfriend." He pauses for a moment and looks up at her. "I told her you're not.. but I also slipped up and told her I might.." He can't finish his sentence.

"You might what?" Laurel asks, feeling herself growing giddy. She knows what's coming, but she just wants to hear him say it.

He bites his teeth.

"You  _know_ ," he groans.

"I don't know anything," she laughs.

"Shut it," he runs a hand through his hair. "Laurel, I.." he finally is able to lock eyes with her. "I like you."

A smile curls on Laurel's face.

He continues, "I like you, and I'd like to take you out to dinner sometime."

He feels relief inside of him. He finally got that off his chest. He asked her out, even though it was probably one of the hardest things he's done. He's proud of himself for manning up. He didn't think he had it in him to do this  _tonight_. He wasn't planning on it. And maybe the moment wasn't right. They were at a college Halloween party, but honestly, he didn't care. He couldn't wait any longer. It had to be done.

"Like a date?" Laurel asks, trying to hide her overly-growing smile.

A grin forms on his face.

"No, not like a date. It is a date," he confirms.

Laurel doesn't even know what to do. A blush appears on her face, and it's getting increasingly more difficult to hide how much she wants to smile. So, she does it. She smiles like a fool, and she doesn't care anymore. She likes him, too, and he just asked her out. Doesn't she have every right to be happy?

Instead of responding, she takes a step closer to him and plants her lips on his, kissing him gently. He places his hands on her waist, holding her close to his own body. Her arms are thrown around his neck, looped. After a few seconds, he finally pulls back.

"So, is that a yes?" he asks.

She rolls her eyes.

"I'd love to go out to dinner _some_ time, but right now, I'm thinking of a lot more things I'd rather do," she smirks at him seductively. "I lied earlier. I told you I don't want you to change costumes. But I do, just not in the way you think."

"I'm assuming you're suggesting that I just completely remove this costume?" he asks, wiggling his eyebrows at her. His hands are still holding her waist, and her arms are still thrown around his neck. "And, I'd gladly oblige to that, but only for a fair trade. You've got to do the same thing."

"Oh, I can definitely do that," she says, and then leans in to kiss him again.

* * *

 

**ONE YEAR LATER.**

" _Put your hands behind your back_!" 

Michaela laughs and rolls her eyes.

"Now,  _this_ is a police officer duo I wouldn't mess with," Michaela jokes, lazily hanging over the side of the couch.

One year later, and they're all back to Jeremy Brown's Halloween party. Only this time, it isn't as much of a coincidence that Frank and Laurel's Halloween costumes match. He finally gets to use that police officer costume he'd gotten last year— and even better, he has Laurel alongside with him, as his matching sexy police officer.

"I have to admit, you guys make a sexy cop duo," Asher comments.

Frank throws his arm around Laurel, pulling her close to his body. Not caring that the others are looking at them, Frank turns to her and leans in to kiss her lips, slipping his tongue into her mouth. His hands go straight for her ass, and her hands loop around his neck. The sight causes Michaela to raise a brow, fake coughing to get their attention.

"It still amazes me that you guys are an actual couple," she comments as the two of them finally pull back from their major PDA.

He looks over at her, admiring her (and most definitely admiring her costume). 

"Yeah, well, I can't believe you actually came to a party without the intention of hitting on somebody, so I guess we've both made a lot of progress since last year," Laurel smirks.

It's true— Michaela came to the party to be with her friends, not to flirt with a guy this year. After a few more exchanges with their friends, the couple proceeds to go to the same corner of the party as they did last year. Only this time, no arguing. He pins her against the wall, pressing his lips against hers. One of his hands is against the wall, and the other is cupping her cheek. Laurel pulls back, reaching over to take his hand. She laces her fingers with his, and their eyes lock. 

"You should wear this every day," Frank grins, brushing his lips against her cheek, but not kissing it. "I had an excuse to buy handcuffs, and now I can finally use 'em."

"Oh, really?" Laurel says playfully. "It depends if your plans for tomorrow suck or not."

He squeezes her hand.

"Come on, what kind of boyfriend do you think I'd be if I had crappy first anniversary plans?" Frank asks, toying with her fingers. "Trust me, you'll be very, very happy. You'll be so happy that you'll definitely be rewarding me with some handcuff play."

She smacks his chest playfully. She's still surprised tomorrow is going to make it a whole year since they went on their first date. November 1st. He asked her out for dinner last Halloween, but they only started dating after the first official date, which took place the next day. 

"Boyfriend," she mumbles happily, pressing her face against his chest.

He chuckles and leans in to kiss her again. One whole year with wallflower. He can hardly believe it himself. He's never even been in a relationship that's lasted this long before. But for once, he's in an amazing relationship, and he can't be happier. He thinks he might just love Laurel Castillo. And she might just love him right back.

 

 


End file.
